Great as an appetizer or an entree.
Fried Calamari
Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh squid cut in ½ inch ring
1 carton of buttermilk
1 cup flour
1 cup corn starch
2 tablespoons white pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
½ tablespoon onion powder
½ tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
Ziploc bag
Peanut oil
Peperoncini sauce:
1 cup sliced golden Greek peperoncini's
4 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons peperoncini juice
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions:
1. Clean 2 pounds of fresh squid and cut the tubes into ½ inch rings. If you have large tentacle sections cut them into manageable pieces; small tentacles may not need to be cut and can remain whole. Place the squid into a bowl and cover with buttermilk. Marinating in the fridge for 1 hour.
2. In your Ziploc bag add all dry ingredients and give it a good shake to mix well.
3. Drain your squid in a colander. Begin putting the squid in small amounts into the Ziploc bag and shake to insure all the squid is coated with the batter. Once all your squid is breaded let the bag sit 15 minutes in the fridge to better help the batter adhere to the squid.
4. Heat up the oil in a fry pot on your stove top to roughly 375˚ degrees. If you have an electric frier even better.
5. Once the oil has come to temperature. Shake off the excess batter and place small batches into the oil and cook for roughly 1 minute. It's important not to overcook it; trust me 1 minute will be more than enough.
6. Once cooked remove from the oil and place them on a wire rack to cool.
7. Heat the peperoncini sauce on medium high heat until the liquid reduces by half.
8. Plate calamari and add peperoncini sauce.